Oh one last thing. My birthday is April 27 - 2 days after Shad's so let's go all out and make it a 3 day, worldwide celebration I just can't believe I am going to be 60 - even though under this hair dye I am all gray and I kind of walk with a stiff gait sometimes. I look in the mirror and see 40ish. No one believes I am my age either. I was talking to my bestie and she said she can't believe we are going to be 60 either. It's like it crept up on us. Although I am PROFOUNDLY grateful for my wonderful, peaceful life of retirement, and really would not want to be 40 or younger because of what I'd have to put up with (working, cramps, lack of personal time, stress, etc). Maybe what gets to me is that sometimes I mourn some lost things of youth - good eyesight, waking up without the whole body hurting, not being so doddering in walking, afraid to trip and fall because a fall takes a lot longer to recover from . I know now that if I lose weight my skin will not snap back into place. I was looking at the young cashier at the Mexican restaurant. She had a lower cut top on that is favored by young girls today and I was thinking - geez her boobs start right under her chin. I had forgotten that while my boobs now stare intently at my belly button (sorry if TMI ) they once sat high up on the chest So there are some things I miss which are lost forever. However I am older, wiser and I love my life now. I am at peace and happier in these last 3 years than I have been in the last 30. I was talking briefly on Facebook to a former coworker who was saying how I was so lucky to escape. It is one big, long, stressful hard time for most of them (management excluded of course). They are pushed to do more and more with not enough people and 10 hour work days are the minimum you put in. No matter what you do, it's never enough and there is always an excuse to cut benefits, cut raises but management bonuses are at an all time high. What does that tell you??? So yes, if the price for what I have and what I enjoy is being 60, then I am glad for that. End of babble.

Dang, lost part of my post again. Not sure if it's me, this laptop or this site.

Michelle - you are a real angel friend to help out with B. That's the kind of thing to do for someone - see what they need and just do it. Just be careful of your back while cleaning. And as far as the yoga goes, keep sampling until you find a teacher(s) that you enjoy. This one I just started - I have been trying to get into her class for over a year - she is very popular - and I can see why - as a result, there are very few openings in her classes. And you know what will work best for you. Funny when Pattience mentioned Zumba - you will always and forever be my immediate reaction to Zumba as you ARE the Zumba queen. I hope your back allows you to get back to that again because you loved it so.

Terra - when you walk, do you have specific goals in mind - do you walk a certain route or a specific distance or a certain amount of minutes or do you just walk until you are done for the night? The important thing is to just get out. Sometimes I think too much about it and miss my opportunity. It's too bad that Clyde can't keep up with you. Maybe you have to put him in a baby stroller so he can get some air with you.

Ceejay - I remember those 15 bean soup mixes! How nice - how did the soup come out? Did you add meat or just make it vegetarian? What a healthy and filling meal. I think a trip to Branson is a wonderful idea. You've been stressed a lot at work, would be nice to have a break and something to look forward to. Sorry your back is hurting - I think naps on rainy days are the best too. Especially if you have the window open a bit and fall asleep to the sounds of falling rains.

Laura - I like your suggestion for a thread title for April. Congrats on skipping stopping for a snack. There are so many places downtown that have tempting little goodies - I'm drooling just thinking of some of them . I found that I snacked / ate a whole lot more when I was working because I was bored or stressed. Ick on having to rake up the wet leaves from the fall Oh well, frost damaged impatiens and begonias are worse to deal with. Nice to hear tho that your weather is improving. My Mom said they were talking about it kissing the 60's soon. Ahhhh spring at last! Yikes, that was kind of scary with Coal and the installer. Glad nothing serious happened. Not sure if I would have left the pup alone with a stranger. Heck I'm so paranoid I would not have left the house with a stranger in it I guess you have to know and work with your dog's quirks. Like many of them hate people with hats on for some reason. That just made me think of Geico commercials they run up this way. 2 of them involving a family of Golden Labs I think. "Dad" is driving, Mom in the front seat and 3 "kids" in the back including an adorable puppy strapped into a baby seat In one commercial they are driving along and all of a sudden Dad barks and then the whole car starts barking - including the baby. The scene flashes to the opposite side of the road where a mail truck is passing by. After they cross paths the dogs get quiet again and keep driving. The other commercial they stop at a stop sigh. Dad gives an audible "uhhhh" and walking across a street is a French poodle in all her strutting finery whispering in French. Dad is gazing at the sweetie when all of a sudden there is a low growl from "Mom" Dad turns his attention back to driving and takes off. I don't know what the commercials are about, I just love watching them. I love a good clever commercial.

Pattience - as Michelle said, we change thread titles once a month and we always include the word Worldies somewhere in the title. Also the last post includes a link to the new thread to make it easier to find us. Good luck with the pants - it will be interesting to see what sells at the market. I would love working with all the different fabrics. Is your season tied to tourists or just better weather and more people out and about in the markets?

Shad - yes I am quite happy that I am retired, I think I would just be unbearable to live with if I had to still be mired in the corporate mess - particularly if it involved the insanity of converting to SAP. Is there an official age of retirement out your way (superannuation benefits?) or do you just have to work until you can afford not to? I guess nothing ever came of your friend's idea to start a training facility? That's a bummer. Did you enjoy a few relaxing drinks on knock off Friday???

Annie - how did the interview go? I was sending good thoughts your way all the time, even if I wasn't posting. It is almost time to start thinking of starting your garden. How are the grandkids doing? Is Royce a sleeper? How is C doing? Still working himself to the bone?

Susie - it sounds as if your workout room will be quite nice when you are finished with it. I think it's smart to transition it from a not very used space to something that will benefit you more. We don't get a lot of company either (not sure if that is a good thing or not) but we too decided that we will use our house for our happiness so one spare bedroom (that can be easily converted) is now DH's guitar room. And I held off getting cats because I was afraid people would be allergic. Turns out the cats were the best "guests" and they have brought a lot of love into our lives. Hopefully you can get the same pleasures from your new room. Even if you can sneak in 30 minutes a day - that is helpful. Did you enjoy your "mommy fix" ? I have to smile, I enjoyed the nieces and nephews when they were young for the same reason. Always nice to enjoy them when they are young and fun and be able to turn them over when they have the chicken pox or the puking flu. And it gives your friends a needed night out on occasion so good for all.

I guess I have totally babbled enough. I will be quite stiff from sitting her for so long. Time to find something for lunch - I am committed to eating more consciously and healthfully. Let's all have a good weekend.

Happy - What a cool idea for the radio station to do an auction...kind of like ebay or groupon for local businesses. Sounds like you scored big on some really good stuff! What a nice savings you got! I'm so glad you like your new yoga class. She sounds like a great instructor. I really enjoy the relaxation parts even more than the poses. I wish I could breathe out the pain in my back and shoulder. That's great your A1C is so good!! Well done! Well done also on the HDL, that's always been a tough one for me to get up to the normal range. Good for you about the triglycerides. Thanks for the info about the saturated fats and plant sterols and Benecol Smart Chews. I'm sorry to hear that your knee and leg are still causing you pain, and that your vertigo is causing you problems. That's good you were able to come up with a floor plan of contents for the thrift store. I'm sure that will help tremendously at the meeting. It's good of you to go to the fundraiser, but I know what you mean about sometimes you'd rather just donate the money than be around the tempting, fattening food. I will definitely be careful with my back when cleaning for B. I try and help out where I can. The yoga instructor I really like teaches on Tuesday nights about a 40 minute drive away and Sunday afternoons (except for this Sunday) about a 10 minute drive away. So other than this Sunday, I'll be a regular at her Sunday class. Not sure about Tuesday nights. I will check out the yoga classes at the gym too. Thanks for calling me the Zumba queen! I really did love to do Zumba. Those commercials sound great!! That's so cool that you turned one of your bedrooms into a guitar room for your DH.

Shad - I had another idea for a thread title "Worldies are Actively Achieving our Aspirations in April"

Terra - Happy's suggestion of putting Clyde in a baby stroller is really good if he'll stay there. Or maybe walk him a little bit and carry him the rest of the way. I had to do that with one of my dogs when we signed up for a short 1 or 2 mile doggie walkathon to raise money for an animal charity. She walked about halfway and then sat down stubbornly saying, "I'm done. I'm not moving for anything." So I carried her the rest of the way. She was about 20 lbs, so she got pretty heavy after awhile, but we finished.

Well, time to get back to it. I was able to get an appointment this afternoon with the doc to have her look at my shoulder. Hopefully she'll be able to do something even though she's a general practitioner.

Happy
No offence but I had to laugh at your post cause that's the exact same way I felt. Even the doctor I went to at the time told me welcome to the 60's and the new norm's.-----meaning all my ailment's. sigh. Decided that this soup would be vegetarian, mainly because I've not been getting any veggies at all lately. And with my strict diverticulitis diet I have to be careful.
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All this talk about yoga is making me want to do my stretches at least. Not sure if my back can with stand all of it though. It till grabs me on certain movements. I have pain meds, Mobic, but I'd rather take the Tylenol Arthritis strength.
Okay, cornbread is done so I have to go out to pick up my meds.

Quick post for me too as I have website work to get done and errands to run.

I went to the doctor yesterday about my shoulder. I have bursitis and I also have tendonitis in my rotator cuff tendon. She said that if I ease up on the repetative motions and use anti-inflammatories it should feel better in a couple weeks. After all her prodding of my shoulder during the exam, I was sore, so rather than go out with friends, I picked Santa up at day care, took him to the dog park for an hour, and then we went home and relaxed. D got home from work around 9, and we watched a little TV before bed.

Not much going on around here is rain and a bit of snow. Bleh, I am way over this winter thing.

HAPPY...Royce is a sleeper and really a way better baby than Jacob ever was even tho Jacob was a premmie. The phone interview went very well, however the $$ are not there or even in the vicinity of my requirements. HR is going to talk with the management and see if they can get a little closer, all this even before an in person interview to save time. Got another rejection it has been filled email, that makes 3 so far. bleh. Not sure on the garden this year, don't know if the money will be there to put into getting it started. Just too many expenses at the moment, and you of course know all about that too.

Sorry been MIA for a while, but yesterday was my nieces birthday and I went out there for dinner as well as shopping for groceries and the bank and several other bits and pieces that needed to be done.
All **** broke loose on Friday at work and my normal easy day was completely destroyed. These things are sent to try us.

Today I am hoping for another long walk - if it doesn't rain. It is a bit of a grey day out there. I'm going to take a bus out to Seatoun and walk around the Mt Crawford peninsular. I'll be back later to tell you how it went.

Ceejay – The 15-bean soup sounds good and filling. I don’t mind meatless meals, but bf isn’t all that keen on them. Sure hope you can work out the timing for a weekend in Branson!!

Terra – Too bad you can’t have Clyde with you when you walk. Do you enjoy listening to music while you walk?

Michelle – Sorry to hear about your rotator cuff issues. They can be painful – I’ve had pain in both shoulders on the past due to rotator cuff issues. None at the moment, or I should say, none that makes any difference. Right now all I feel is minor pain in my left shoulder when I try to place my arm behind my back and lift it up as far as I can do with my right arm. No biggie compared to what I’ve experienced in the past. I hope the rest and anti-inflammatories help you. So very nice of you to help w/ cleaning at B’s. You’re a good friend!!

Happy – Glad the AIC level is good. What a great idea doing a layout of the store to help recall all the inventory at the time of the fire. It’ll help w/ the insurance recovery I’m sure. Sorry to hear the vertigo and leg/back pain persist. Great you’ve gotten a deal on the pool passes!!! I know you’ve been wanting to do pool workouts (or was it just sitting in the Jacuzzi?? LOL). I’m thinking I’ll buy a kickboard and give the pool at the gym a try for non-swimming workouts. There are many ways to use the kickboard for both cardio and resistance workouts. I’ve seen one of those geico labby commercials, but not all. I might have to do a special viewing online....love doggies!!

Annie – Great to hear about the interview going well, too bad the money’s not there...yet. Hope they can do something about that. Yes, I’m still doing challenges, but not tracking anything online. I'm on day 7 of both the pushup and plank challenges!! Stopped tracking activity on mfp because I don’t get much cardio, and I don’t get calorie “credit” for the strength work I do.

Shad – How was the niece’s b-day gathering? Sorry Friday went bad for you. Bleh. Have a nice walk this weekend. This morning was gray as can be here, but now it’s sunny!

Hi Susie!! How's the cleanup in the spare room going?

Went to Jazzercise this morning and have gotten both state and fed taxes filed. Whoohoo! Glad that’s done. Have laundry loads in the washer and dryer to deal with. And lunch and a dog walk. On with the day!

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Not much going on. Got a text from L at work. Another pump has been air locked. I don't think we had this problem last year.
Haven't done a lot this week end due to the lower back. and with the insurance situation right now don't think I want to go to the doctor until I get my new card. So I'm taking it easy and taking Tylenol.
Talked to my friend and she'll be coming on Monday. Not sure how long she will stay.
More later.

Hi. I am happy to report a 1.2 lb loss at TOPS on Thursday night. It felt good to see the scales go down. I swear that this time I'm not going to put it back on and have to re-loose it. I have been doing that over and over for sometime now.

I didn't get all done what I had planned while DH took Layna shopping. A friend that I used to work with, called to let me know that her dad was killed in a farming accident a couple of days ago. I wasn't able to go to the wake on Friday night so I went to the funeral this morning. My heart hurts for my friend.

I did get the regular house work done but nothing done in cleaning out he spare room or the office. So, I will be working on that during the week this week after work.

Happy: I'm 48 and I miss my boods sitting up high on my chest! You made me laugh! Thank you for that. While I'm not as "free" as you are since you are in retirement I can say that being 48 and turning 49 on June 7 this year. There is a feeling that I don't put up with a lot of things anymore that i put up with in my 20's and 30's and it feels good.

I am thrilled to hear that you love the new yoga instructor. Also, yow clever of you for coming up with the floor plan.

Pattience: TOPS stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly and yes it is a weight-loss support group.

Annie: I am hoping that they can get closer to the $$ you need. Is it something you think you would like?

Ceejay: I hope your visit with your friend will be a good, and relaxing one.

Terra: You are making good progress! Out on the 300 and heading under 295..keep it up.

Laura; I love how you do so many differnt workouts. You should become an instructor! I hear you what you are saying about MFP not giving you credit for the strength training. It used to bother me until a friend of mine told me that i shouldn't worry about it, because in order to show a loss I didn't need to "eat" my workout calories. Just something to think about.

Shad: Sounds like Friday wasa bit of a rough day at work. I'm sure you got everyone straightened out! as you should!

Michelle: How is your shoulder feeling.

If I left anyone off..I'm sorry...I'm getting sleepy and need to head to bed.

Evening all,
Went for my walk. It blew but didn't rain, and I ended up covering 10.5km. I can tell you I was never so glad to see a bus in my entire life. I'm about to struggle with the phone camera to get some pictures down. You may not see them for a couple of days. It's not an easy job with this phone.

I got home, had a hot bath and then relaxed with my kindle and a glass of wine. Managed a bit of dinner, but I think I might be in bed early tonight. Body is weary but I think the brain is still alive.

Having said that, the phone is now ringing and I need to finish off the preparation for tomorrow. I'll be back later or tomorrow

A rather uneventful day yesterday. Went to Walmart, picked up some things. For a change their produce was better looking than usual so I got some fresh stuff as well as staples. Also stopped at the drug store (chemist Shad) and picked up a few things on sale. Forgot to get more Epsom salts tho. Finished the day picking up a new book on reserve at the library - James Patterson's Guilty Wives. My Mom was raving about it - said it was kinda scary so we'll see. Believe it or not, I have never read a James Patterson book before.

Today we are going for a burger at one of our favorite places before they shut down for the month. Snowmobile trails close April 1 (whether there is snow or not) so that ushers in a very dead time around here. Too cold to come to the cabins, nothing to do in the way of recreation so many places around here shut down in the months of March and April to get a rest before the busy summer season starts up May 1. At least that means spring is headed up to the northwoods. Yesterday was a nice day - very sunny, very little wind and things are melting and dripping. Today looks the same. Tomorrow we can either get rain or another snow storm.

Later today is a fund raiser for the Humane Society - will hit that up too although just probably briefly.

Shad - you had QUITE the walk yesterday. Bet that tuckered you out. Can't feel bad about that though. What happened at the office on Friday?

Susie - congratulations on the pounds lost! I guess having the painters come is good motivation for getting that spare room cleaned out!

Ceejay- sorry your back is bothering you. Rest up on your time off.

Hi Terra

Laura - a sit in the Jacuzzi is the best part of a water workout Glad to hear you got your taxes done. Hope you had a nice workout at Jazzercise.

Annie - glad to hear Royce is a sleeper - that helps a lot to keep some routine and structure at home. Sorry about the rejections - I believe that a lot of times they post jobs and they already know who they want to fill them Don't lose hope!

Michelle - ouch on the bursitis - one of the things they told me was that the muscles being stiff and knotted contributes to the fluid build up in the bursa. Hence the exercises for you. Did they not offer a cortisone shot or is it not that tight yet? Hope you feel better.

Pattience - how did your day at the market go?

I'd best get on with the day. Talk to you later ladies. Enjoy your Sunday.